Quantity stop mechanism for meters



De@ 9, l941- w. E. STEEN 2,265,325

QUANTITY STOP MEGHANISM FOR METERS Dec. 9, 1941. w. E. STEEN QUANTITYSVT-OP MECHANISM FOR vMETERS Filed Aug. 28, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 9,1941. w. E. sTEl-:N

QUANTITY STOP MECHANISM FOR METERS Filed Aug. 28, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 3ffzwnZZ/f Mil/galli Sfar .Effrfzey Dec. 9, 1941.

w. E. STEEN 2,265,325

QUANTITY STOP MEGHANISM FOR METERS Filed Aug. 28, 1939 4 sheets-sheet w/r 76 m 7 *v i 88 w r V 72% 14 72 74 4 74 4/ 56 )f 'yx glia/776gPatented Dec. 9, 1941 aztaszs V QUANTITY STOP MECHANISM FOR METERSWilliam E. Steen, Pasadena, Calif., assignor to Smith Meter Company, LosAngeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application August 28,1939, Serial No. 292,214

9 Claims. L(C1. 23S-132) This invention relatesgenerally to quantitystopmechanisms for meters or the like and is more particularly concernedwith devices of this character which are especially well adapted to beapplied to meters such as installed on gasoline delivery trucks, thoughnot, of course, limited 'to this particular use.

Operation of devices of this character, involve the manual setting of acounter mechanism to indicate the number of gallons of nuid to bedelivered to a given customer. Having set the counter, the operatormerely has to open the valve manually. As soon as the predeterminedamount of fluid has been delivered, the valve is automatically closed.This is accomplished without interfering with the totalizing unit whichkeeps a running total of all trip deliveries.

It is among the general objects of the invention to provide a device ofthis character which shall be extremely accurate and positive inoperation, and yet one which may be set by the operator with great easeand dispatch.

It is another and major object of the inven tion to provide a device ofthis character which will permit of full-capacity delivery through thevalve until just before completion of the run and then cause astage-closing movement of the valve, the full and nal closing occurringjust at the completion of the predetermined run. By virtue of thisstage-closing and the allowance of a short pause between stages, thevalve, meter and counter are relieved of the shock incident to thesudden and full closing usual to the operation of other known types ofautomatically closed valves. Yet in spite of this stage-closing eiiect,there is a sharp cut-off of the ilow when the predetermined delivery iscompleted and the pause between the stages is so short that there is noappreciable lag in the shut-off operation,

it following that advantage is had both of the relatively rapid andautomaticl shut-off and of the shockless effect of the stage-closing.

within the meter. On the other hand, Athe stage or delay closing ofthevalve spoken of above, is accomplished by releasing the main valve so itmay fully close just before the predetermined quantity has beendelivered, with the pilot valve still remaining open until the run,.ofpredetermined quantity, has been exactly completed, whereupon the pilotvalve is automatically tripped so that it is pressed to fully closedposition.

How all the above is accomplished, as well as other objects and novelfeatures of the invention, may be discussed to better advantage inconnection with thefollowing detailed description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical, medial sectional view through a device embodyingmy invention, and, except for the showing of the valve, may beconsidered as a reduced section on line l-i of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on line 2;-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the valve shown in Fig. 1, but in changedposition;`

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Flg. 3 showing the valve shifted to stillanother position;

Fig. 5 is a. section on line 5-5 ot Fig. 1, but showing thequantity-stop wheels and release cams as having been rotated slightlyfrom the position they occupy in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6 8 of Fig. 5, except that the quantity-stopwheels have been indicated as rotated s'uiliciently to bring theircrosspins into the plane of. section line 6 6;

Fig. '7 is a section -o'n line 1-1 of Flg. 6:

Fig. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a section on line 9 9 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 1o is a fragmentary plan view of the latches and latch bar inpositions somewhat advanced beyond the showing of Fig. 2;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. l0 but showing the latches and latchbar in changed relation:

Fig. 12 is an enlarged section onv line l2-l2 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 13 is an enlarged section on line ll-H of Fig. 11;

Fig. 14 is a section on line M-Il of Fig. 12

e but showing the parts rotated sufllciently to return them to theaspect of Fig. 10;

Fig. 15 is an enlarged, fragmentary plan view of the latch bar andlatches when in the'relative positions of Fig. 2;

Fig. 16 shows the latch bar as viewed from the position of arrow itinFig. 1 5:

Fig. 17 shows the latch bar as viewed from the position of arrow l'l inFig. 16: and

Fig. 18 is a fragmentary section on line I8-I8 of Fig. 15. I

My invention may be applied with advantage to any suitable type of fluidmeter, and I have -thus merely conventionally illustratedmeter I as madeup of a housing I I and a rotor I2 within that housing, the rotor havinga' shaft I3 whose extent of angular movement bears a known relationshipto the quantity of liquid delivered through outlet I4.

A counter housing I5 is mounted on top of the meter housing, being madeup of base I6, side walls I1, and removable top I8, attachment betweenthe two housings being made through cap screws I9 (Fig. 2). Havingbearing in base plate I6 is a vertical shaft 20, the shaft carrying aworm 2| above the plate and a pinion 22 below the plate. In Fig. 1 theshaft is shown as broken immediately above the worm in order that theshaft-carried mechanism above the break may not obscure the mechanismtherebehind, though the complete shaft above plate I6 and the mechanismcarried thereby is shown in Figs. 5, 12 and 13.

Gear train 23 interconnects rotor shaft I3 and shaft20, the particulargearing shown being such that one revolution of shaft 20 is accomplishedduring the delivery of one gallon of fluid by the meter. Of course,other units of measure and other ratios between the extent of angularmovement of shaft 2D and the quantity of fluid delivered, may be chosenat will, the above relationship being set forth merely for illustrativepurposes. The gear drive between shaft 20 and the counter mechanism willbe described at a later point.

The outlet valve is indicated generally at 24 a ring 39 adapted to bepressed into fluid-tight engagement with seat 32 when the valve isclosed, said ring 39 preferably being of a suitable fluid resistantmaterial having proper self-seating characteristics. The ring is clampedbetween annulus 38 and flange 40 of nipple 4I, the nipple being threadedinto the bore of the annulus. Flange 40 is extended upwardly to form acup 42, through the bottom of which is provided a bore to permit thesliding passage of stem 34 therethrough, and a tube 43 is secured to andextends above the cup, having sliding fit over boss 34a. v

The bore 44 of nipple 4I is of suicient diameter to allow fluid passageupwardly around stem 34 when the lower end of that bore is open, therebeing lateral ports 45 opening from the nipple bore to upper chamber 29.

Secured tostem 34 is a pilotvalve SIGOpper 46 adapted to seat on thelower end of nipple 4I and thus to close off bore 44 under certainconditions. Secured to stem 34 and adapted to play vertically throughthe bore of tube 43, is a collar 41,.spring 48 being interposed betweenthe top of cup 42 and the collar in a manner tending to elevate the stemand hence stopper 46 with relation to stopper 33, and thus tending to,keep the pilot valve, generally indicated at 49, releasably in closedcondition. Spring 50, interposed between stirrup cup and the under faceof stopper 33, tends to releasably hold the main valve, generallyindicated at 33a, in closed condition. It will also be apparent thatfluid under pressure i within the meter tends to hold both the pilot andandwhile, from some aspects of the invention,

the nature of this valve is unimportant so far as its detail and type ofoperation is concerned, it preferably has certain features, to bedescribed, which become important in connection with other aspects ofthe invention. These features may be generally typified as arrangementswhereby, in

spite of the fact that the valve is automatically released forspring-pressed movement from open to closed position when apredetermined quantity of fluid has been delivered, and in spite of thefact that full capacity delivery is maintained through the valve untilan instant before the automatic shut-off occurs, that shut-ofi' isaccom.

pllshed without the jarring shocks usually characteristic of sucharrangements. The same arrangement which permits of this rapid yetshockless closing, also contributes to the end thatv the main valves inclosed condition.

I provide the following means for sequentially opening the pilot andmain valves, this means y also serving as a part of the mechanism forreleasably holding those valves in open condition until certain latchmechanism is automatically tripped after delivery 'of a predeterminedquantity of fluid.

operator may open the valve easily-and quickly in spite of relativelyhigh fluid pressures which may be resisting such opening.

The lower part 25 0f valve housing 28 is integral with the meterhousing, though this is not essential to the invention, and defines achamber 21. The upper part 28 of the valve housing defines a chamber 29,the two chambers being separated one from the other by horizontalpartition 30 end .the valve-stopper structure to be described. Partitionv30 has a large central opening 3I outlined by a downwardly facing,annular seat 32 for coaction with the main valve stopper generallyindicated at 33. Valve stem 34 is vertically slidable through dependingguide-boss 34a on Pivoted at 5I on bracket arms 52a which extendintegrally from *counter housing I5, is an operating handle or lever 52,the lever carrying an adjustable contact screw 53 which is disposedimmediately over the end of stem 34.

When lever 52 is depressed from the position of Fig. 1 to that of Fig.3, it will be seen that stem 34 is pressedfdownwardly against the actionoi'l the spring 48 (relatively weak with respect to main spring 50) thusopening pilot valve 49,' as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. It will berealized that this relatively small valve may be readily opened evenagainst relatively high pressures withinthe meter, and the flow of fluidthrough the nipple bore into chamber 29 tends to balance the main valveand thus renders it more readily openable,

Upon further depression of lever 52 toward the position of Fig. 4, theunderside of collar 41 engages the upper face of cup 42 so thatsubsequent movement of the lever to the position of Fig. 4

moves stopper 33 against the pressure of main spring- 5B, to unseat thatstopper and thus fully open thel main valve, ythe pilot valve stillremain- I ing open so nuid .may now not only upwardly 'I'he valve aroundthe'outer edge of the main valve stopper but also through the nipplebore 44.

Upon subsequent movement of lever 52 from the position of Fis. 4 to thatof Fig. 3, the main valve recloses, while the pilot valve remains opento permit a continued but reduced now there- Y through. The flow throughthe pilot valve is not shutoff until lever 52 has been returned to the rposition of Fig. '1, the cut-oi! being thus completed rapidly but instages, with a short pause between stages. so as to' reduce closingshocks which are characteristic of usual quick-shut-oif valves. I

My invention contemplates an arrangement whereby, once the valve isfully opened, as in Fig. 4, it is automatically latched in thatposition. Then. after delivery through themeter of a predeterminedquantity of iluid, the valve holding means is automatically released sothat springs 48 and 50 may return their respective Stoppers to closedposition. But the arrangement issuch that after the main valve has movedto closed position, which is timed to occur just prior to the fulldelivery of the predetermined quantity of fluid, the pilot valve isdelayed in starting towards its closed position. As soon as the fullcomplement of fluid is delivered, the pilot valve is releasedautomatically for full closing movement. Thus, the easing-off` effectusually accomplished painstakingly and slowly by manual operation, isautomatically accomplished by my arrangement, with the added advantagethat it, is done much more rapidly and accurately than is possible bymanual operation.

:Depending from. lever 52 adjacent its pivot point, is a shifter pin 54entered in the socket 55 of latch bar 59, the latter being mounted inthe counter housing at 51 and 58 for horizontal sliding movement throughthe interior of said housing. Lever 52 and pin 54 may be considered asmaking up a bell-crank. Latch bar E has a relatively long notch 59 sunkin one side of its upper part (as viewed in Figs. 1 and 18), the barstock being undercut at one end of the notch to form-a latch shoulder80, while a pair of notches 8| and 62, separated by lug 63, are cutA inthe lower half of the same side of the latch bar. The stock at one endof groove 8| is undercut to provide latch shoulder 84, said shoulderbeing, in effect, at one end of lug 83, while the other end of the lugis fashioned to provide cam shoulder 65. It will be observed that notch82 extends to the left (Figs. 15 and 16) a greater extent than doesupper notch 59, and it will also be noted that latch shoulders 9.0 and84 may be considered as spaced longitudinally of bar 55 though atdifferent horizontal levels.

A ller strip for the right hand end of notch 59 (as viewed in Fig. 15)is provided in the form of a spring-steel leaf 68 secured to bar 5B at81,' the distal end 88 of the strip being 'bent into notch59 andpresenting a cam shoulder 69 which lies in opposition to latch shoulder60. Pivot pin is supported by and extends above housingpost 1|, a lowermain valve latch 12, having a to rotate both latches in acounter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 2, 10 and i1.'

A plate 82, held down on posts 8l by screws 84, holds latches and spacer15in assembly, and also provides an upper bearing 85 for shaft 20.

Trigger or latch-release cams 88 and 81 are mounted on shaft 20 forselective cooperation with latches 12 and 18, respectively. Cam 81 ispinned at 88 to the shaft, and remains constantly in the horizontalplane of latch 18. On the other hand, cam 88; the effective portion ofwhich is approximately 90 "behind the effective portion of cam 81, isvertically or axially shiftable along shaft 20 to and from a position ofcoplanar relation with latch 12 (Fig. 12 vand Fig. 13). Cam 86 is heldagainst relative rotation with respect to cam 81 and hence with respectto shaft 20, by vertical pins 89 which are pressfitted in cam 81 buthave free flt in sockets 90 of cam 85, so said cam 86 may slidevertically and still remain fixed against rotation with respect to cam81 and shaft 20. Pins 89 form, in effect, part of the drive connectionbetween shaft 20 and cam 86. The lower end of cam 86 has groove 9| totake a shifter element which will be described later. 1

The counter mechanism includes a totalizer` |02. Relativelylarge-diameter shaft |03 is rotatably mounted in but movable endwisethrough housing wall I1, being pinned at |04 to shaft |0|. Shaft |03 hasan external knob |05 whereby shaft |0| may be rotated manually or may beshifted endwise from the position of Fig. 6

latching nose 13 and a tail 14, being pivotally mounted on pin 10 in thehorizontal plane of notches 5| and 82, latch shoulder 64. and camshoulderv 85. The latch 12 rests at its pivoted end ontop post 1|, whileapproximately midway between its pivoted end and the free end of tail14, it is slidably supported from beneath by' the upper end of post 14a,which is rectangular as viewed in plan (Fig. 14). A spacer 15 isinterposed between latch 12 and the upper, pilotvalve-latch 18, thelatter also being pivoted on pin 10 and having a nose 11 and tail 18.Nose 11 lies in the horizontal plane of notch 59, latch shoulder 60, andcam shoulder 69. Springs 19 and 80 extend from the tail ends of latches12 and 18, respectively, to post 8| which projects upwardly from thebase |8, these springs tending vto that of Fig. 2, the contact of theknob with ,the opposite direction. To establish an intermediate positionof shaft |0|, I have provided a v spring-pressed detent |01 adapted toenter groove |08 in shaft |03 when shaft |0| is in said position.

On totalizer shaft are provided usual counter wheels C. These wheels maybe of any suitable stock variety, their nature being well understoodby'those skilled in the art, the connection between the shaft and wheelsand the interconnection between the wheels through transfer pinions P ontransfer shaft |09, being such that for each revolution of shaft 20(representing the delivery of one gallon of fluid in the illustratedembodiment of the invention) the countery wheels will register acorresponding counteradvance, the wheel at the extreme right of Fig. 2making onetenth of a revolution to each full revolution of shaft 20 andeach other wheel rotating onetenth of a revolution for each fullrevolution of the wheel to its immediate right, all as is wellunderstood. v

The drive from shaft 20 to gear 98 and hence shaft 95, whereby thisprogressive advance is accomplished, includes a worm wheel ||0 in meshwith worm 2| and pinned to shaft the latter being \journalled inbrackets 96 and |02. Shaft carries pinion ||2 which drives gear 98through an idler ||3. The drive connection is,

delivered, the quantity-stop wheels indicate the subtraction of onegallon from the total quantity which has been manually set up on thequantitystop unit. In other Words, the quantity-stop unit, beinginitially set to indicate a predetermined quantity, shows aprogressively decreasing total and will finally reach zero indication,the usual transfer pinions movement of either wheel H5 or I I8 for eachfull revolution of the wheel at the immediate right thereof, suchone-numeral movement indicating a subtraction, rather than an addition.

It will be unnecessary to describe the counter wheels insofar as` theirtransfer mechanism is concerned, since this is well understood, but asufficient description of the drive of the first wheel (H4) willv begiven to enable an understanding of theother co-related elements of thequantity-stop mechanism.

Counter wheel H4 includes the numeral-carrying ring H8 to which ispinned at H9 a drum |28, ratchet disk |2.| (Fig. 8) and transfer wheel|22, the latter having teeth adapted intermittently to mesh withassociated transfer pinion H1, disk |2I being notched at |23 to receiveone of the mutilated teeth of the pinion when the transfer wheel is sorotated, all as is well understood by those skilled in the art. Pressedinto numeral ring H8 is a usual ratchet cup |24 adapted to be engaged byspring-pressedv ratchet pawls |25 pivoted on member |28 which is pinnedat |21 (Fig. 2) to collar |28, the latter being nonrotatably held tosleeve 88 by set screw |29.

It follows that when shaft 95 is rotated by the drive from thel meter,pawls |25 are bodily driven in -a clockwise direction (Fig. '1) and,through ratchet cup |24, these pawls drive numeral ring H8 and drum |28in a corresponding direction to give the described subtractive resultsIon the quantity-stop unit while shaft 85 is simultaneously additivelyadvancing the totalizer unit. During such times, wheel unit H4 rotatesabout shaft |8I, the central thimble |38 of the unit having properrotational bearing on said shaft and being integrated with the numeralring and drinn in the usual manner.

For manually setting coulnter wheel H4, means is provided for rotatingthat wheel in the same direction that it is rotated by the meter, butwithout necessitating coincident rotation of shaft 85. For this purpose,disk I2I is cut out as at I3| to receive a co-planar ratchet pawl |32and its II'I causing a one-numeral are so located on shaft |8| that theyregister with pawl |32 only when that shaft is thrust to the extremeright, as in Fig. 6. The notches have arcuate bottoms, as indicated indotted lines in Fig. 6, andare so shaped that. as shaft I8| is shiftedto the left in Fig. 6 and if pawls |32 are in the shaft notches, saidpawls will be cammed (laut of the notches against the tension of springWhen it is desired to manually set wheel H4 so a given numeral upon thatwheel will appear through glass |31 in sight opening |38 (it beingunderstood that when the wheels are in the position of Fig. 2, the zeroson all wheels of the quantity-stop unit will be in alinement and willappear through sight opening |38) shaft I8I is thrust to the position ofFig. 6 and then rotated in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 8,whereupon `either one of the shoulders |38 will pick up pawl I 32 andthus rotate disk |2I and hence the associated number ring and drum in-(not shown in connection with wheels H5 and shoulders I 38. When wheel II4 is rotated through 70 pawls |25, as has been described, and in 'whichnot be the case. as will presently appear. Notches H8). Shaft I8| alsohas additional notches corresponding to those (|35) previouslydescribed, for the selective reception of the pawls carried by disks|2|a and I2Ib. Such notches are indicated at |35a and I35b.

It will be seen that when notch |35 is in register with pawl |32 ofwheel H4 (Fig. 6) nohes I35a and I35b are out of the planes of. disks|2|a and |2|b of wheels H5 and H8, respectively, and hence out of theplane of and out of operative association with the correspondingdisk-pawls. Accordingly, manual rotation of shaft |8| will cause nocoincident movement of wheels H5 or H8. 0n the other hand, when shaftI8I is moved to an intermediate position, as established by the entranceof detent |81 in groove |88, shaft notch I35a will be in register withthe pawl carried by disk |2|a and notches |35 and I35b will be out ofregister with the disk pawls of wheels II 4 and H8. Thus, in thisintermediateposition of shaft I8I, rotation of knob |85 will causecoincident rotation of wheel H5 without causing coincident movement ofthe other two quantity-stop wheels. When knob |85 is drawn to theextreme -leftv (Fig. 2) notchy |3511 is lined up with the pawl (notAshown but corresponding to pawl |32) of disk |2|b, while notches |35and |35a willboth be out of register with the disk-pawls of wheels H4and H5. Accordingly, when shaft I8| vis rotated, it will pick up onlythe pawl of wheel H8 and cause rotation of that wheel only. Y

Drums |28, |28a and |28b of wheels H4, H5 and H8, respectively, haveangularly extending notches or recesses |48, |48a and I48b,respectively, sunk in the drum peripheries. Notches |48a and I48b are ofthe same peripheral extent while notch |48 is about double length'. Thenotches are so located that when the zeros on the three wheels of thisunit are lined up and visible through sight opening |38, the threenotches are so relatively located that their rearward enddeiining walls|4| are likewise lined up, said walls which is entered in groove 8| ofcam 86, while` the other end of the lever is provided with three'down-turned fingers |41, |48 and |49 which are in line with drums |20,|20a and |20b, respectively. ,s

A torsion spring |50 acts between stationary shaft |45 and lever |42 ina manner tending always to rotate said lever in a clockwise direction,as viewed in Fig. 5, thus constantly tending to urge fingers |41, |48and |49 against the peripheries or dwells-of their respective drums, or

into the drum notches if they are in line with the fingers, andconstantly tending to elevate cam 86 into the plane of latch 12 (Fig.13)

When all the drum notches are lined up, as in Fig. 2, signifying thatall counter wheels .of the quantity-stop unit show zero through sightopening |38, said notches willbe in register with the lever :fingers andtherefore spring |50 is free to hold lever |42 in such a position thatcam 86 is at its upper limit of travel (full line position in Fig. 5;and Fig. 13) where said cam lies in the plane of latch 12,

When any one of the quantity-stop wheels has been rotated to a positionwhere the corresponding lever finger is on the dwell of that wheel drum,lever |42 will have been rotated, against the pressure of spring |50, toa position where it will have caused end |46 to depress cam 86 toitsdotted line position of Fig. 5 or full line position of Fig. 12, whereit lies beneath latch 12 and may therefore rotate without effectivelycontacting that latch. The lever is swung to this cam-re- .tractingposition as any one of the wheels` ||4, ||5, or ||6 isl rotated in aclockwise direction (Fig. 5) from its zero position, the cam |4| of theparticular wheel involved causing `such lever movement.

Thus, it will be seen that so long as any one of the drum notches is outof register with its corresponding lever finger, cam 86 necessarilyremains depressed to a point where it lies below latch 12 and thereforerotation of shaft 20 and of cam 86 will have no effect on said latch 12.

In describing the operation of the device, it will first be assumed thatthe delivery valve is fully closed asin Fig. 1, that latch bar 56 is atits extreme right hand position, as illustrated in that figure, and thatall the quantity-stop wheels are in zero position, it following that theshifter lever fingers are all in their respective drum notches and cam86 is elevated into the plane of latch '12 (Fig. 13, though this figuredoes not illustrate cam 86 in its position of rotation corresponding tothe starting point of an operative cycle). Cams 86 and 81 will then bein the relative positions of Fig. 2 while the latch bar and latches willbe in the condition of both Figs. 2 and 15. Cam 81 will be holding thenose 11 of latch 16 iiush with or just clear of the latch bar, againstythe tension of spring 80, while spring' 19 will have rotated latch 12 ina counterclockwise direction (Fig. 15) to an extent which enters nose 18in groove 62. The effective portion of cam 86, though in the horizontalplane of latch 12, is

not, at this time. in a position of rotation to prevent such nose-entry.

It will be assumed that the quantity stop unit is to be set so that itwill check delivery of huid after 22 gallons have been passed. Shaft |0|will be moved endwise by knob |05 either into the position of Fig. 6 orinto an intermediate position as established by detent |01. The knob |05is now rotated to turn shaft |0| in a clockwise direction (Fig. 5) whichcauses the drive shoulderl of the particular groove |35 or |35a which isin line with its pawl |32 to engage said pawl and thereby set upclockwise movement of the corresponding wheel. During the initialmovement of this wheel, the cam |4| at the end of the drum notch orrecess will set up counterclockwise movement of lever |42 and thus movecam 88 downwardly and out of the horizontal plane of latch 12. The wheelwill be rotated until the numeral 2 appears in sight opening |38, andshaft |0| will then be shifted endwise to engage lts driving shoulderwith the second counter wheel. whereupon theshaft is. rotated until thenumeral 2 of that wheel appears in the sight' opening, it being obviousthat the dwell of the corresponding drumis thus engaged with theopposing lever nger.

Operating lever 52 is now depressed, the first portion of correspondingstern movement opening the pilot valve (Fig. 3) and the finishing por..tion of the handle depression opening the main valve, all as has beenpreviously described.y During this depression or clockwise movement oflever 52 (Fig. 3) rod 54 shifts latch bar 56 to the left, as viewed inFig. 1. During thisleftwise movement, cam 81 may have been rotatedsufiiciently, by reason of the meter lstarting into operationimmediately the valve starts to open, to

allow nose 11 to drop partially into notch 59, but as the leftwisemovement of the latch bar continues, cam 69 on strip 66 will force latch16 outwardly to an extent suiiicient to allow cam 81 to clear latch-tail18 upon subsequent rotation of shaft 20. Also during this leitwisemovement, cam shoulder 65 will engage nose 13 of latch 12 in a manner toswing. that latch in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 10, butwhen the valve swing that latch in a counterclockwise direction' oflever 52, notch 6| will be lined up with nose 18 and the spring forlatch 12 will thereupon as viewed in Fig. 10, entering the nose in notch6|. When manual pressure is relieved from handie 52 and thevalve-springs and fluid pressure therefor tend to close the valve andthus thrust upwardly on lever 52 in a manner moving latch bar 56 to theright in Fig. 1, shoulder 64 will be engaged by latch nose 13, the latchbar thus being held from further movement to the right and thereforeholding both main and pilot valve open (see Figs. 4, 10 and 14).

As the meter now is operating, the drive of rotor shaft I8 is impartedto gear 98 through the drive connection previously described causingcoincident rotation of counter wheel I4 and of the totalizer counterwheels. Since cam 86 is below the vplane of latch 12 (Fig. 12) and sincestrip 66 is holding latch 16 clear of the rotative path of cam 81,rotation of shaft 20 does not affect the condition of the latches duringthis stage of operation, and valve 24 therefore' remains held fullyopen, though its (springs and the fluid pressure is tending to close lt.

As wheel ||4 reaches a position where its drum notch or recess |40 isbeneath linger |41, there prevent closing of y the pilot valve. valve isthus held open in the condition of Fig. 3

will .be no consequent movement of lever |42, since finger |48 is stillon the dwell of wheel H5. However, as wheel ||4 continues in itsrotation beyond lthis position, the transfer mechanism will rotate wheel||6 to la position where its numeral l will appear in the sight opening.Upon another complete rotation of wheel H4, ringer |41 will again lineup with the recess in the drum of wheel ||4 but finger |46 will still beon the dwell of wheel H5. However, as wheel ||4 now revolves to aposition where its numeral 9 appears in the sight opening, the transfermechanism will rotate wheel `to a position where its zero appears in thesight opening and its drum recess will -be in register with linger |46.However, nger |41 is by now on the dwell of drum and therefore there isno change in the position of the shifter lever |42.

After Wheel ||4 has continued its rotation until there is only about ofa gallon to be deliv- .ered (in other words, shortly after the numeral"1 starts to disappear from the sight opening) the leading edge of notchwill pass from beneath finger |41 and, since lingers |48 and |49 are inregister with their respective drum-notches, spring |50 will immediatelyact to rotate lever |42 in a clockwise .direction (Fig. 5) and therebyshift cam 86 back into the plane of latch 12. Immediately thereafter,said cam 86, in its rotation, willact against tail 14 and swing latch 12in a clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig. 2) thus ,clearing nose 13from shoulder 64. Immediately thereafter, valve spring acts to close themain valve, as in Fig. 3, but as latch bar 56 is thus sharply drawn tothe right, shoulder 69 rides from beneath nose 11 of latch 16 and spring80 swings the latch in a direction to enter nose 11 in notch 60, vcam 16having by'this time been rotated to a position where it will notinterfere with such movement of the latch. Latch nose 11 thus is in aposition to catch shoulder 60 as the latch bar 56 continues its movementto the right, checking that right-wise movement in time to The pilot sothat, while the main flowy of fluid through valve 24 has been checked toa large degree, there is still some after-flow `through the pilot valve.

As the meter continues its rotation, wheel ||4 finally reaches its zeroposition, signifying that the full predetermined quantity of fluid hasbeen delivered, at which time cam 81' will have engaged tail 18 of latch16 and will have swung said latch ina manner clearing nose 11 fromshoulder 60. Bar 66 having thus been entirely freed froml the latches,pilot 'spring 48 will have instantly closed the pilot valve to check allfurther delivery therethrough at just the instant the predeterminedquantity of fluid has been completely delivered. With this completestoppage of iiow, the

lmovement through strap-retainers ISH. This bar carries a depending pin|62 which extends downwardly through openings |63, |64 and |65 in latch1,2, spacer 15 and latch 16, respectively. Opening |65 is oversize andplays no part in the release operation, while spacer 15 is free to pivotidly, within the limits, about pin 10. However, when the valve islatched fully open, pin |62 lies adjacent one side of the defining wallof opening |63 in latch 12 (Fig. 10). If occasion arises for trippingthe lvalve manually, a leftwise shift of bar |60 (Fig. 2) engages pin|62 with the defining wall of the latch bore |63 and swings latch 12 ina clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 10, to clear nose 13 fromshoulder 64 and thus to allow bar 56 to move to the right suliciently topermit closing of the main valve under the impulse of spring 60. Themeter will then continue in operation for a very short time, that istheupper latch 16 will engage shoulder 60 and pr'event the closing of thepilot valve until the meter has run sufliciently to cause cam 81 toswing the-upper latch 16 to release' position. The afterow will be veryslight in amount, and the disadvantage thereof is more than oiset by thefact that this -gives the assurance that the valve will not finallylatch, knob |61 merely has to be .pressed in- Wardly, the end of theAplunger contacting bar meter, of course, ceases to operate andall'parts come to rest with the quantity-stop counter registering zeroon all its counter wheels.

It will thus be seen that though full-flow has been kept up until almostthe last instant, the

1 has been automatically released. For this purpose I provide areleasing bar |60 winch is mounted on plate 62 for longitudinal sliding|60 and finally moving it to the left (Fig. 2) sufiiciently to releaselatch 12 from bar 56, as has been described. In order to limit theleftwise movement of bar |60 and thus prevent undue strain from beingimposed on the latch or its spring, I may provide a limit pin |69depending from bar |60 and adapted to engage the edge of plate 62 as astop. Or, of course, the parts may be -proportioned so that the contactof knob |61 with the outer'face of the counter housing may serve as alimit stop for the plunger.` y

When pressure is relieved from knob |61 after a tripping operation, thespring on latch 12 will restore it' to operative position and will,through pin |62, push bar |60 back to inoperative position.

It will be noted that, in moving from the position of Fig. 4 to Fig. 3,boss 34a and tube 43 (into which iluid may leak from the valve chambers)act as a dash pot to dampen the closing movement of the main valve andto relieve the entire latching mechanism from undue shock.

VWhile I have herein described and illustrated a preferred embodiment ofmy invention, it will be understood that various changes in design,structure and arrangement may be made without departing from thev spiritand scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a device of the character described, a shiftable latch member, apair of pivoted latches pivotally and individually movable into and outof latching Vengagement with the member, a pair of cams, one foroperating each of the latches, one of said cams being movable axiallyinto and out of the effective plane of its latch and, when in saidplane, being operative by virtue of its rotation to swing its latch outof engagement 5. In a device of the character described, a`

with the member, means for shifting said one cam axially, and a rotativedriving element carried by the other cam and engaging said one camwhereby said cams .are constantly maintained in/given angularrelationship irrespective oi the position to which the one cam isshifted axially.

, 2. In a device of the character described, a shiftable latch memberadapted to have applied thereto means tending to shift it in a given di,rection, a pair of latches individually movable into and out oflatchingengagement with the member, with either of the latches, when in latchingengagement, being adapted to hold said member against movement in saidgiven direc'- tion, a pair of rotatable cams associated one with eachlatch and adapted by virtue of their1 rotation to operate the associatedlatch out oi'- latching engagement with the member, common drivemeansfor rotating the two cams, said cams being relatively timed tooperate the latches successively upon operation of the drive means, oneof said cams being bodily shiftable to a position where it isineiIective by virtue of its rotation.`

to operate the associated latch, and means to restore said shiftable camto a position where, by virtue of its rotation, it is adapted to operateits associated latch. Y

3. In a device of the character described, a shiftable latch memberadapted to` have applied thereto means tending to shift it in a givendirection, a pair of latches individually movable into and out oflatching engagement with the member, with either oi' the latches, whenin latching engagement, being adapted to hold said member againstmovement in said given direction, means adapted tohold one of thelatches out of latching engagement when the other latch is in latchingengagement, means adapted .to move said one latch into latchingengagement when said other latch' is moved out of latching engagement, apair ofrotatable cams associated one with each latch and adapted byvirtue of their rotation to' operate the associated latch out ofiatchingengagement with the member, common drive meansi'or rotating the twocams, said cams being relatively timed `to operate the latchessuccessively upon operation of the drive means, one of said cams beingbodily shiftable to a position where it is ineffective by virtue of itsrotation to operate the associated latch, and means to restore saidshiftable camto a position where,4 by virtue of its rotation, 'it isadapted to operate its associated latch.

4. In a device of the .character'describei a shiftable latch memberadapted to have applied thereto means tending to shift it in a givendirection, a pair of latches individually movableA into and out oflatching engagement with the member, with either of the latches, when inlatching engagement, being adapted to hold said member against movementin said given direction, a pair of rotatable cams associated one witheach latch and adapted byvirtue of their rotation to operate theassociated latch out of latching engagement with the member, a commonshaft mounting and adapted to rotate the two cams, said` cams beingrelatively timed to operate the latches successively upon operation ofthe drive means, one of said cams being bodily shiftable to a positionwhere it is ineiective by virtue of its rotation to operate theassociated latch, and means to restore said shiftable cam to a positionwhere, by virtue of. its rotation, it is adapted to operate itsassociated latch.

6. In a device of the'character described, a shiftable latch memberadapted to have applied thereto means tending to shift it in a givendiotally movable about a common axis into andl rection, a pair oflatches individually and pivand adapted by virtue of their rotation tooperate the associated latch out of latching engagement with the member,common drive means for rotating the two cams, said cams being relativelytimed to operate the latches successively upon operation of the drivemeans, one of said cams being bodily shiftable to a position where it isineective by virtue `of ,itsl rotation to operate the associated latch,yand means to restore said shiftable cam to a position where, by virtueof shiftable latch member adaptedto have applied thereto means tendingto shift it in a given direction, a pair of latches individually movableinto and out of latching engagement with the member. with either of thelatches, when in latching engagement, being adapted to hold said( memberagainst movement in said given direction, a pair of rotatable camsassociated one with each latch and adapted by virtue of their rota- 4tion to operate the associated latch out of latching engagement withthemember, common drive means for rotating the two cams, said cams beingrelatively timed to operate the latches successively upon operation ofthe drive means, one of said cams being movable axially to a positionwhere it is ineilective by virtue of its'rotation to operate theassociated latch, and means to restore said shiftable cam to a positionwhere, by virtue of its rotation, it is adapted to operate itsassoiatedlatch.

its rotation it is adapted to operate its associated latch. y

7. In a device of the character described, a shiftable latch memberadapted to have applied thereto means tending to shift it in a givendirection, a pair of latches individually movable into and out oflatching engagement with the member, with either of the latches, when inlatching engagement, being adapted to hold said member against movementin said given direction, a pair of rotatable cams associated one witheach latch and adapted by virtue of their rotation to operate theassociated latch out of latching engagement with the member, and commondrive means for rotating the two cams, said cams being relatively timedto .operate the latches successively upon operation of the drive means.if

8. In a device of the character described, a shiftable latch memberadapted to have applied thereto means tending to shift it in a givendirection, a pair of latches individually and pivotally movable about acommon axis into and out of latching engagement with the member, witheither of the latches, when in latching engagement, being adapted tohold said member against movement in said given direction, a pair ofrotatable cams associated one with each latch and adapted by virtue oftheir rotation to operate the associated out of latching engagement withthe member, and common drivemeans for rotatingthe two cams, said camsbeing relatively timed to operate the latches successively uponoperation of the drive means.

9. In a device of the character described; a

. shiftable latch member adapted to have applied 'one latch intolatching engagement when said other latch is moved out of latchingengagement, a pair of rotatable cams associated one with each latch andadapted by virtue of their rotation to operate the associated latch outof latching engagement with'the member, and common drive means forrotating the two cams, said cams being relatively timed to operate thelatches successively upon opi :ation of the drive means.

WELLIAM E. STEEN.

